Battlegrounds
by Versions of Violence
Summary: An immortal monster and a girl with a greater destiny. She wants to save the world and he only wants to be left alone. What happens when fate forces Axel and Kairi to confront each other - and everything they've ever known?
1. Introductions and Farewells

**A/N**; My friend is a font of inspiration. She gave me the basic outline of the idea for this, and I just took it and ran. This is as AU as AU ever gets, though lots of familiar faces will show up, and I'll slip in echoes of canon here and there. There's a major reference right in this chapter, in fact. I have so much fun echoing canon in new situations.

Though there will be a lot of gen here, the story will come to focus heavily on a handful of pairings. One in particular. You can probably figure out which. Mostly the chapters will be 1st person narrative, I think, with 3rd person exposition where absolutely necessary.

Also, apologies for what I do to Naminé in this chapter. I'll make it better later, I promise. Also, the king is no one in particular - I simply made him up. Hate him for now, but he might have a surprise in store for the end.

Disclaimer: I will never own Kingdom Hearts, though that would be pretty sweet.

* * *

Footsteps ring hollowly in this long hallway, the sharp sounds ricocheting off the suits of armor and bounding away to die in the high, vaulted arches of the ceiling. It's an irritating sound, severe and regular, like the incessant ticking of a clock. _Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. _

It's not my choice to be here. I'm bound to this dark, disgusting place, so full of the stench of all the humans who've let their souls rot. All of this pretty artifice they call "progress" -- all of it's shit. Fake. I could crumble it in an instant, but I'm too far removed from my woods. From the center of my power.

From my twin. It aches, constantly, to be apart from him, to know he's in a dark and stifling place. The king never explained why he chose which of us to jail and which of us to let "free" as a servant -- if you ask me, he couldn't tell the difference between us. No one can. They're not supposed to be able to. We're one and the same, whole only when we're together. I'd murder that bastard to get my twin back, to escape from this place and go back to our woods in peace, but if I kill him, my twin dies. All but one of the king's sorcerers will make sure of that.

So here I am, in this stupid hallway with its stupid relics of grandeur that mean absolutely nothing in the grand scale of things, when it will all be rust in a hundred years and dust in a thousand and I'll still be alive when they're all dead -- sorry, tangent there. So here I am, headed for the king's throne room.

I hate that man so much.

I shove open the doors without bothering to knock and parade in like I own the place. The bastard may have me tied down for now, but he doesn't own me, and he can barely control me. I know my twin will fend for himself. I rebel as much as I can. Even the small things feel good. I hold my chin up high and refuse to bow before his throne, as usual.

"My king," I intone, making sure my voice drips with false sincerity.

The king's lip curls, but he says nothing, merely watching me. The man's head sorcerer stands at his arm -- one of the very few in this castle I can stand, since he's an actually decent person, unlike the rest of the sorcerers on staff. I lock eyes with him and make my expression inscrutable, knowing what he'll take away from it. Roxas merely lowers his chin and stares right back. _He's angry today, _that look says. I give a brief roll of my eyes and turn my attention to the fat, pompous idiot before me.

The king loudly clears his throat and lifts a fat hand with rings on every finger to point at me. "I have a job for you, servant."

"I am oh so thrilled to hear it, Your Highness. Please, enlighten this unworthy one."

"You _are _unworthy!" Testy. I flinch without meaning to, if only because I know his rage will mean pain for my twin. I try to ignore the flash of sympathy in Roxas's eyes and stay focused on the king. "My apologies, Your Highness," I force out from between gritted teeth.

"That's better," he murmurs. "My chief Royal Sorcerer here has seen something of incredible importance in a dream. There is a girl somewhere out in the country. A normal girl, by all accounts. However, it seems that she will bring about the downfall of my empire. A show of arms and violence would not stop this terrible fate." For a moment the king seems introspective, almost thoughtful. Not that I can really give the man that much credit. He's probably just hungry. "I need to deter her from her path. She is supposed to fulfill her destiny by her twenty first birthday. From what my spymaster tells me, she is currently three months shy. I need you to go and find her. Do whatever is necessary to derail her."

I stare at him for a moment, wordless. The king glares back at me, color flaring in his plump cheeks.

"Marry her if you must. But don't kill her! That will ruin everything. Just do _something! _Or you know what will happen."

Instantly I go down on one knee to hide the grimace that flashes across my face. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Go and see Zexion. The spymaster will tell you all the details you need to know. Now get out of my sight."

"Gladly," I hiss, flicking a look up at him before standing and turning to go without another word. I really, _really _hate that man. But before I leave ... I cast a cool look back over my shoulder at the sorcerer. "Roxas. Walk with me."

It's much to the king's chagrin that Roxas follows me out.

* * *

"I didn't mean for him to find out," he murmurs as we head back down the hallway. "I had a nightmare. I saw her in a dream. I just ... knew her instinctively, though I know I've never seen her in my life. Her name is Kairi." Roxas's brow creases with concern, an expression that looks almost odd on him. "She's a good person, Axel. I could just tell."

"So then how did the king find _out, _Rox?" The question comes out a little sharper than I meant, and the flash of guilt across his features makes me regret it, a little.

"You know he forces me to sleep in the chamber next to his. He heard me cry out in my sleep. He immediately roused the guards and had them drag me in. I was so disoriented that I told him a few pieces of it before I really realized what was going on. By then it was too late and I had to tell him the whole thing or risk your life."

"_My _life?" I stop immediately at that, so quickly that Roxas overshoots me by a few steps. He does not, however, turn around to look at me. Only focuses his gaze on the floor, expression troubled. A flare of anger shoots up in me at that, hotter than anything I felt while in the throne room. "_My _life? Why the hell would he think you care about _my _life, _Roxas?_"

I drawl out his name, stretching out the _O_ and the _A_ with a derisive sneer as I circle closer, fixing him with a narrow, piercing look. Something is very strange here, something I don't like. I consider Roxas a friend, true. It came as a shock to me, at first, that the king's sorcerer was honest and good instead of just a simpering lackey. But as it turns out, Roxas is here just as much as I want to be here, which is not even a little bit. He's never told me the circumstances surrounding his own forced servitude. Every time I bring it up he pulls his face into a grim mask and only shakes his head. Once I caught him murmuring the name "Naminé" in his sleep, but that's all I ever found out.

I guess we're close. As close as an immortal monster and a human sorcerer can be, anyway. We get along, we share a mutual loathing of the king and we both want to see him dead or deposed or both. Preferably both, in whatever order.

But we're not exactly bosom buddies. Not enough for _my _life to be bait to keep Roxas tied down here, now. Or at least...

"I cried out your name in my sleep," he suddenly murmurs, voice miserable. "I'm sorry, Axel. You're my only friend here. I guess I just ... called out to you naturally. I didn't ... I know I put us both on the line," he finishes lamely. "I couldn't stop it."

I'm silent for a long time. My impulse is to reach out and strike him, to yell and claw and punish for his stupid, awful mistake that's put both our asses in the fire. But he won't even look at me, and I know something's going on here that he's probably not telling me about. Something deeper. I do something I wouldn't have, once, and take a deep breath and let the anger go. After a second, I reach out and place a hand on his shoulder. Gently.

"It's okay, Rox. Listen, what's wrong?"

His expression tightens, darkens, and I tighten my grip on his shoulder without thinking about it.

"Muffle us," he says curtly.

I lift a brow, but comply. My magic is limited by the barriers on the castle, but I can still pull off a few things undetected - like muffling voices so no one can eavesdrop. Any use of magic by Roxas is heavily regulated by the king himself, so he couldn't levitate a pin without getting in a world of trouble. Once the world around us goes a little quieter, he turns to face me properly, closing the distance, and his expression is harried and torn. I've never seen him like this before.

"I'm here, Axel, because five years ago, the king captured my fiancée, Naminé. She's ... a beautiful woman, Axel. I've loved her since we were just kids growing up in the same town together. I started magic to impress her ... so she'd ... you know, want to be with me." I suddenly find I'm not looking at Roxas anymore, unable to watch the pain spark in those blue eyes. "Five years ago I finally finished my training under Merlin. I was at the top of his class at the academy ... my whole town was so proud of me. Right on the spot I ... I asked her to marry me." I look back at him, and his eyes have shut. "She said yes. The very next day I woke up to find she was gone, and an emissary from the king at my door telling me that if I ever wanted to see her again, I would come to the palace and serve as his chief Royal Sorcerer."

"Roxas..."

"I haven't seen her since, Axel. Not once." Roxas's voice is tight. "Until last night. I was finally, finally allowed to see her for the first time. She's wasted away almost to nothing, I don't think they feed her enough, but she still... she told me that she still lo--"

I place a finger over his lips. He shuts his eyes, and his tears spill over my hand. A long moment passes, and he sheds no more tears. When he opens his eyes again, they're red but dry.

"Then I had the nightmares. As you can guess, my state of mind wasn't ... in the best condition for acting under pressure."

With a wave of my hand I lift the muffle, sighing heavily as I wipe my hand off on my shirt. "Shit, Rox. You should have told me."

"Why?" It's like somebody flipped a switch in his head from _sad _to _pissy_. He snaps the word out like a challenge, as if that's going to impress me. "So you could worry about it and do nothing? No. It was my problem. Now that I know where she is, I will ... I'll ... I'll do something," he finishes curtly, looking away from me. I can't tell if he's embarrassed or just angry at himself for getting emotional. Probably both. Poor, stupid kid.

"I'll do something if I can," I tell him. Because I will. Because Roxas is _my _only friend in this god-forsaken place. Because I've learned that despite the human stench and the number of idiots here who amount to nothing more than filth, there's still a great number of the people in this castle are decent, hard-working, and honest, and for their sake I don't mind occasionally going out of my way. The old king was apparently a good man and a good ruler, and the older servants speak very fondly of him. The pig on the throne is his son, the servants say, and a disappointment to his father's legacy.

No kidding.

"Thanks," he mutters, wiping a hand over his face. "Come on. Let's get to Zexion before the king wonders what we're up to and whips some puppies to punish us or something."

* * *

We find Zexion in his usual haunt -- the massive castle library, where a few of the other academics on hire keep to themselves. Zexion is another decent sort. At least, I think so. Hard to tell, with that one.

"Axel," he murmurs as I approach. "Chief Royal Sorcerer," he adds with a deferential nod of his head to Roxas. Roxas cuts him off with a short gesture. "Just give us your report."

Zexion smirks faintly, but makes no other reply as he turns to his desk, gathering up a few papers. I like Zexion, but he can be a sneaky rat bastard sometimes. "As our chief sorcerer has likely already told you, the target's name is Kairi. She is twenty years, eight months, and ten days old. At some point during the course of her twenty first birthday, something will happen that causes her to journey out into the land, much to the ruin of our beloved king." His one visible eye glints, and I smirk thickly at him. Roxas ignores us both. "Here's a map of the country side and a map of her town specifically. Also, take these." He hands me a few pamphlets. I simply stare at him until his smirk dissolves into a more human smile.

"Informational pamphlets I prepared on the town. They should give you a general idea of how the local politics function, the general makeup and disposition of the populace, and most importantly, what Kairi and her family are like. Useful information, I would hope."

"You would," I remark blandly.

He shakes his head, but his smile soon fades. "If you fail in this mission, Axel ... there will be an untold price to pay." His voice is as quiet and careful as it ever is, but I feel my spine stiffen. He watches me impassively. I feel no hint of a threat from him, but he's hard to pin. "I'll do what I can to cover for you in your absence. But you must work quickly and effectively. If you do your job well, I believe I can convince the king to reward you with the release of your twin."

"What?!" The voice is Roxas's, not mine. I'm too stunned to reply. "How?!"

"The king grows weary of Axel's constant insubordination," Zexion murmurs, keeping his gaze only on me. "I believe he sees this mission as a way to kill two birds with one stone. If he becomes accustomed to Axel's presence out of the castle, it may be possible to persuade him that it would be best if Axel were gone ... permanently."

Roxas is suspicious, I can tell, but all I can feel is a heady euphoria buzzing at the back of my skull. A wide, dreamy smile crosses my face, and I clap both my hands on Zexion's shoulders.

"You're a good man, Spymaster Zexion," I inform him magnanimously. He gives me a thin smile of his own in return and dislodges my grip.

"I do try," he demurs, shooting Roxas a knowing look, the significance of which I don't feel like puzzling out. I'm too happy to care. "Now go get your supplies. Lexaeus will be awaiting your arrival in the stables." With that, Zexion turns and sweeps out of the room.

Conniving, cunning little rat fink of a beautiful man, that one.

* * *

Lexaeus is as tall and silent as ever when we meet him down at the stable. "Axel," he murmurs tonelessly.

"Lexy," I return with a warm and cheery grin, "how are ya, buddy?"

Lexaeus looks at me for a moment, then looks to Roxas with an arched brow. My poor, harried friend just gives a helpless shrug. I make up for both their reticence by literally bouncing on my toes in excitement. "Well, Lexy? Where's my stuff? I wanna get going!"

"I'm sure you do," he rumbles archly, turning to finish saddling my horse. He slips the bridle into the creature's mouth as he gestures to a corner of the stable with a nod of his head. "There are your things. Look through them and make sure you have whatever supplies you need. I surmise you will not be back."

"Nope," I reply brightly, dropping down into a squat to paw through my bags. Some wax-sealed cheeses, an assortment of fruit wrapped up in a few cloths, a single loaf of bread, skins of wine and water, a few suits of clothes, two small hunting knives, a journal with pens and ink ... I dig through the bags while humming tunelessly under my breath, pleased with the preparations. They sure know how to get rid of a guy. The horse is beautiful, too, tall and black and stately. She'll be a fun one to break in.

Roxas hovers in the background, and I can practically hear him vibrating with nerves. With a sigh I stand, pulling my travel sacks over my shoulder as I go to stand in front of him and clap a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be alright, Roxas. I'll write to you, okay?" I don't even bother to lower my voice, knowing Lexaeus is loyal to Zexion first and everyone else second. "I have ways to send letters that the king won't be able to find and intercept."

Roxas says nothing, only looks up with me with those big blue eyes of his. Without warning, he throws his arms around my middle in the tightest hug anyone has ever given me, even burying his face in my chest. Now I can hear his heart beating humming bird fast. The kid is scared, maybe to death, over whatever is going to happen.

What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm not human. I shouldn't even care. But I can't help just ... dropping my things and wrapping my arms around him in return. Tight. The guy needs a hug right now. His nerves, his fear ... I can feel it, from this close. His ... pain at my leaving. Pain? I guess I really am his only friend here. That's ... strange to know, and it weighs like a burden across my shoulders as he finally pulls back, expression stoic, even though his eyes and the memory of his rapid pulse give everything away.

"Write soon," he says, stooping down to pick up my bags and hand them to me. "Be safe. I'll do what I can to help from here. Assist Zexion in trying to convince the king. Whatever it takes." He steps back, leaving me the room to move aside and allow Lexaeus to lead the horse out of her stall. He pats her flank, glances at Roxas and I, then turns away, moving further down the line of stalls and finally to the big door at the end. As he removes the padlock and pulls it open, Roxas captures my eye one last time.

"Even if I can't save her ... maybe you can save him."

* * *

A few minutes later I'm riding out at a brisk pace, even though I know I should be walking the horse before I trot her, even though I know I'll tire the girl out. My heart feels heavy with things that should not be.

Humans are dangerous to get involved with. They weigh you down with emotional attachments, make you like and care about them. Make you want to be with them. I'll make this affair with Kairi quick and clean. I have to.

After all, all that country girl is ... is a barrier between me and my twin's freedom. That's all. That's all she ever will be.


	2. Imprisonment and Suspicion

**A/N**; I'm very mean to Roxas and Naminé. But this chapter features a very brief cameo of a knight in shining armor (a _real _one, that is) who will be around to help them out later.

Disclaimer: will never be mine. And after reading spoilers for 358/2 Days? Thank god. Sigh.

* * *

It burned. It burned him terribly, the need to see her, to touch her hair, to promise her it would be alright. Roxas couldn't stop himself from sneaking through the halls at night, making his painstakingly careful way to her cell with a cloth-wrapped bundle clutched tight in white-knuckled hands. It always held something useful, something needed -- food, water, a small candle and some tinder, sometimes one of his own shirts. He even brought her blankets and new shoes, when he could.

But every time there was another pain, lurking beneath the burn, more a terrible and troubling _lack _than a burn or sting. This was cold, numb, emotionless, a pervasive sense of _nothing _that made him want to flee from the hollowness in her eyes. This part of him wanted never to go near that cell again. To never see her face, never see her smile.

It just hurt too much to know it was all his fault.

"Roxas," Naminé murmured when he reached her door, circling pale fingers around the bars in the door's small window. Her smile was soft but true, and it got a little more earnest every night. "I'm glad to see you."

Every time he saw her face again, the second pain, the numbness, faded away into nothing. Much as he didn't want to admit it, Roxas hid a secret cowardice deep in his heart. A need to distract himself, to simply look away and hide in his work to avoid those things that troubled him. The tactic had gotten him through the last five years without mental collapse, but it backfired the instant it tried to take him away from Naminé, leading him skittish, evasive, even a little wary. But just to hear her voice reminded Roxas why he had gone through all this pain in the first place. Why he was still here. Why he would fight until his dying breath to see that door opened and his fiancée set free.

"Hey," he murmured in return, shifting his bundle to the crook of one arm so he could reach his other hand up and tangle his fingers with hers through the bars. "I'm ... glad to see you too. You feeling any better?"

"A little," she said, her quiet voice almost swallowed by the darkness surrounding them both. They couldn't risk a light -- the meager moonlight that filtered in through her cell's one tiny window had to do. "The blanket really helped. And thank you for the fruit, yesterday. It's been a long time since I had any that was so fresh."

Her mouth clicked shut as soon as she finished the words, and she let her gaze fall, pale hair drifting down to obscure her features. Instantly Roxas squeezed her fingers tight, and when she looked up he gently shook his head. _It's okay._

"Oh, Roxas," she sighed, reaching her other hand through the bars to clasp it around his. Moving as close to the door as she could, she pressed a light kiss to his fingers. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I should have known ... the king has always been cruel, and you were so good at what you did ... your magic was so incredible. _Is _so incredible." Her eyes shone with pride for him, though her voice was as quiet as ever. "I knew _someone _would want you for your talent. I should have thought..."

"Naminé."

"No, it's alright. It hasn't been so bad, Roxas. Being imprisoned here. Many of the guards are kind. A man with red hair stopped by often to bring me supplies to draw with, so I'd have a way to pass the time. He was very kind to me."

Roxas froze, eyes wide. "Axel?"

Naminé blinked at him curiously, her head tilting slightly to the side. "You know him?"

_He didn't know. Axel had no idea who she was, but he was helping her before I even knew where she was being held._

Fighting off a weird rush of gratefulness for his crazy friend, Roxas simply gave Naminé a crooked smile. "Sort of, yeah."

"Then you know he's a pretty good person," she said with a smile of her own, her features lighting with its warmth. "This room is never cold, he made sure of that. It's been comfortable, but ... lonely. The food I got wasn't _bad, _just ... not what I was used to, I guess."

"Naminé."

"Roxas ... I know how guilty you must feel. I _know _you. Better than anyone." She gave his hand a squeeze. "And you've been punishing yourself every second of every day for the last five years. But really, Roxas, it's okay. I've got to take some of the blame too."

"For being a prisoner?" he asked, voice numb and quiet as his eyes briefly slipped shut.

"For letting myself become one," she replied, her own voice laced with a steel that was rare for her.

In a burst of blue-white light the door between them simply exploded and dissolved, breaking apart into hundreds of tiny points of light like fireflies that drifted away into the air, surrounding the pair with their delicate fractured glow. And in that moment Roxas took Naminé into his arms and held her so, so tight, like he was afraid she might simply vanish if he let go. Naminé didn't even miss a beat, wasn't even startled by the sudden rush and power of Roxas's magic. She simply hugged him right back, burying her face in his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair.

That's how the guards found them, simply holding each other in the dark, long after all the little lights had drifted away.

* * *

"Light-based magic," the king announces, marching around me in slow circles. "That's what made you the pride and joy of the academy. The apple of Merlin's eye." I don't look up as his stupid-looking shoes come to a stop before me. I'm not going to say a word. I'm not going to make a damn sound.

"They say it's unique in the entire kingdom. They say you're the first to wield it perhaps ever. Once I caught wind of your incredible powers, I knew I had to have you." The king uses his foot to kick none too gently at my chin, forcing me to look up. I don't even bother to hide my scowl for this man, the deep-set hatred I can feel bubbling up from the bottom of my soul like bile.

I imagine taking that ornamental sword of his and plunging it right into his black, depraved little--

"But I didn't know what I would get," the king goes on, voice gentle and musing, like he's thoughtful. Like he ever thinks, the gluttonous mass.

"Axel's had a bad influence on you, Roxas. You were never so disobedient before he came."

_I won't reply. I won't say a word. I won't make a sound. I won't rise your bait, you sick, fat fuck._

"You like the light, don't you, Roxas? You're drawn to it." That gets a reaction out of me before I can help it. The smallest twitch of my jaw as I swallow. Perhaps the king's only talent is being observant in moments like this, so he knows exactly how to torture people. "Well, why don't you try spending a week without it. And without food, for that matter. Guards!" he snaps, and the group of armored knights surrounding us moves forward in a tightening circle. Not that I could escape even if I wanted to. It's kind of hard to run with thick, magic-resistant chains binding your ankles.

"Blindfold him. Glue his eyes shut if you have to. Throw him into our darkest, foulest cell and leave him there without food for a week. Then dock the cost for replacing that door from his pay, with an additional sum for..." He glances down at me again, gleeful in his disdain. "... emotional damages."

I don't even have a chance to reply before a gag is forced into my mouth. The blindfold is around my eyes instantly, and it's dark. But not completely. I manage not to jump at the feel of the warm breath on my ear. The whisper is quick and so quiet I barely catch it.

"Don't worry. I've got you."

Then several pairs of hands haul me to my feet and I'm dragged away.

* * *

You know, I've gotta say. This is a beautiful horse, but this riding stuff is for the birds. Within an hour I'm sore and I can't touch the ground without groaning and waddling around like I've got a barrel between my legs. Which is fitting, I guess, considering. Just incredibly annoying.

I've been riding for a while now, almost a full day out from the castle, and the sun is just slipping below the horizon as I finally spot the glow of a little village on the horizon. Their fires and candles are just starting to light for the evening. I slow my horse down to a walk as I observe it, careful to memorize as much as I can. I need to know this place like the back of my hand _before _I get there. I need to know it so well that the villagers don't _know _I know it. It's a dangerous game I'll be playing - pretending at being some lost or exiled knight, seeking shelter and a bit of kindness as I prepare to return home to my lost love or whatever.

The thought makes me twitch. _Lost love. _I wonder how my twin is now, if the king is treating him any worse now that I'm out of the castle. The thought pisses me off so much that I don't notice the air going tight and dark around me until my horse whinnies in fright, rearing up on her back legs, and it takes minutes of careful soothing to calm her back down so the whites of her eyes are no longer showing. Stupid stupid _stupid. _That's exactly what needs _not _to happen while I'm in the village. Even a hint that I can control magic -- dark magics, old magics they've never seen before -- and they'll send me packing if they don't hang me first. Sure, most villages have progressed past their witch-burning obsessions these days, but with a backwater place like this, you can never be too careful.

I've just got to have faith that Roxas will hold down the fort in my absence. I trust the kid, stupid as I know it is to trust a human, even a good one like him. Still, there's something about him that makes me want to like him, to have faith in him. So I will, and I'll leave my twin in his hands and hope he can appease the king on his own. For now. I'll eventually send a little trouble the castle's way in order to take the king's mind off his chief sorcerer for a bit.

Heh.

But the village is getting closer now, and I take a minute to review my part in my head. Humble, earnest exiled knight, cast away for angering his lord, pining for his little lost ... fiancée. Sorry, Rox, for borrowing the inspiration. Good and true, simply looking for a roof over his head, willing to repay gratitude in kind ... just have to make sure I knock on the right door. If I don't get this right in one shot, I won't have the window of opportunity I need to get close to the girl...

So I make myself the picture of dogged determination, valiant weariness, as my horse trudges into the village. She seems to have picked up on my ploy, somehow, because even she is hanging her head and barely picking up her feet as she walks. I surreptitiously pat her side and whisper a promise of a carrot, when I can manage it. Urging her forward just a bit, I angle for the house I know will be Kairi's. It's situated, thankfully enough, near the edge of the village, near enough that it can be a plausible place for me to stop. Tugging gently on my horse's reins, I more fall off than dismount, even stumbling a little in case someone is watching out their window. With the last of my obviously fading strength, I give the door a quick knock.

The reaction is exactly what I was expecting -- and hoping for. A middle aged woman cracks the door and peeks out, the lines around her eyes and mouth giving lie to a woman who has spent much of her life smiling. Hovering behind her is a young son, eyes bright with curiosity, and a cautious husband. Their daughter is nowhere in sight, somewhat to my chagrin, but that hardly matters for now. Without any ado I spin out my sad and pathetic tale, hardly even paying attention to what I'm saying as I examine every inch of their house that I can see. The mother's reaction is instantaneous -- with a cry of sympathy she places both hands on my shoulders and steers me inside, murmuring and cooing kindly all the time. It takes all my willpower not to smirk at her. Nice lady, but seriously naive.

"Dylan, go get your sister, tell her to fetch a bucket of water and to prepare your bed for our guest. Yes, _your _bed, you and your sister can share her bed for just one night, can't you? That's my boy, run along now." Now I actually _do _smirk as the little kid gives me the stink eye before running out the front door, presumably to find the missing Kairi. I'm treated like a king as the woman and her husband help me with my few possessions and provide me with a bit of cheese and bread. I can tell these people have little, but they're sharing it with me anyway. A point in their favor, then, if only a small one. Besides, it's tempered by the barrage of questions and curious looks I keep catching them giving me when they think I'm not watching. Somehow I get the feeling the news will be all over the village by dawn that a handsome exiled knight has shown up at _their _door, and isn't that so _amazing?_

I'm just starting to relax when the little brat comes back in the door, sulking. "Kairi says she'll be here in a minute." He frowns petulantly at his mother until she laughs and ruffles his hair. She starts to say something about the beds, how they'll be split up, something like that, but that's when I stop paying attention. That's when the girl walks through the door.

"Hi, mom!" she says breathlessly, carefully lugging a bucket brimming with clear well water in the door. Wisps of her hair are askew, free of the practical braid that trails down her neck, and her face is a little red, like she's been running. She's not very tall - probably half a foot shorter than me - and pretty in a simple way, though nothing stunning or arresting. She bustles in the door and sets the bucket down on the table before trotting back over to shut the door, remove her apron, straighten her dress, and give her mother and father quick kisses on the cheek. Then she turns to me, hands going immediately to her hips as she gives me a strange little smile. "So this is our knight in shining armor, huh? Doesn't seem very shining to me..."

I can't help a surprised grin as her mother pinches her ear and whispers something harsh in her ear. Kairi whines and mutters "I _know, _mom, I _know,_" and gives me a grudging curtsy once released. "I'm Kairi. It's nice to meet you...?"

"Axel," I murmur with a grin. She's ... not what I expected. I was thinking she'd look older, somehow. Powerful, maybe. That there would be _some _visual clue as to how this country girl could somehow bring about the fall of the entire kingdom by herself. Death and ruination for the king coming from a kid who still gets her ear twisted by her mom at the age of twenty? I can't help but think, instinctively, that maybe Zexion made a mistake, but I know he wouldn't. He's far, far too careful, and Roxas's dream can't have been wrong, either. So what is it about this girl?

"So what were you out doing so late at night, Kairi?" I drawl out her name just a bit, unable to help teasing, and she immediately turns all huffy and pouty. I don't even bother to look up as her parents quietly and nervously excuse themselves from the room. I know what they want to happen. Suits me fine. Doesn't seem like it'll suit the girl, though, since she's folding her arms like that'll keep me away from her.

"I was reading earlier in the day, and I just ... I lost track of time _once! _That never happens, usually I'm so good with chores, but Dylan will _never _let me hear the end of this--"

Chuckling, I wave my hand, stemming the tide of her rant. "Listen, don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us."

Sighing heavily, she drops into the only other chair in the kitchen, pulling her knees up to her chest and leaning her cheek on them as she watches me. It's all very girlish, and she very much does not strike me as a woman of any kind. It's like she's a young girl, still. But I can't help but notice something odd about her eyes, like they're looking _into _me instead of _at _me. They're a very, very bright blue, much like Roxas's, though these are even freakier, if that's possible. Before I even notice it, several minutes have gone by in silence where we only stared at each other. I open my mouth to speak, to fill the quiet, but she stops me.

"So what's your story?"

Feigning weariness again, I rake a hand through my hair. "I forgot you weren't here when I told your parents. I'm a knight, you see. Or, er, _was. _I was exiled from my lands for something I didn't do -- long story." I let some of the fight drain out of me, hooding my expression with resigned dejection. It's a good show. "This village was the first place I found far enough from my home that I thought it would be safe to stop. I just need to rest and recuperate for a time while I try to figure out what to do. Your parents immediately offered me their hospitality. They're very kind."

Lay it on thick, Axel. They offered to let me stay here for however long I needed -- I just need to get Kairi to like me, to believe me. If all goes well, I can distract her with a fake courtship until she turns twenty one. If I can just keep her in this stupid, no-name village for a few months, if I can just keep her simple mind distracted, then I can finally see my twin again, finally--

"You're lying."

That stops me.

I can't help the sharp look I give her, though I regret it immediately. Not like she hasn't already seen through me, somehow, but the urge to cover my tracks is still too strong to drop the facade completely. But she hasn't moved except to blink, and she's still watching me with those preternaturally blue eyes. Her voice is quiet, very matter-of-fact, and she doesn't talk like she's surprised or even angry. She's just saying the truth.

"I don't know why you're lying," she continues, finally picking her head up to sit straight, "but I don't like it. And I don't like _you._" Slowly she lowers her legs back to the floor, straightening out her skirt as she does so. Her movements are careful, calculated, as if she doesn't want to waste a single bit of energy on unnecessary movement. By the time she's done, she's sitting ramrod straight in her chair, legs crossed at the ankle, and the expression on her face startles me. For the first time since I can remember, I've completely underestimated my opponent. There's an almost regal iciness in her perfectly composed expression, a judgment that actually leaves me feeling ashamed, though I know it's beyond ridiculous to feel that way.

"I don't know why you're here, but my parents like you, so I won't disobey them. But if you even _dare _to hurt them or my brother, if you even _think _about it, I'll make you pay."

She's serious. Suddenly the girlish child who was grousing at her mom is gone, and I'm finally confronted with the woman who could be the downfall of the king's vast empire. Just what the hell am I dealing with, here? Who _is _this girl?

"So, _Axel._" She stands, brushing out her skirt, and some of the pressure in the room drains away. "You're welcome in my home as long as my parents want you here, but you have your warning." And then she smiles, the intimidating presence of just a moment ago fading like it was never there at all. "If you ever need anything, just tell me. I can show you where you'll be sleeping now, if you like."

"Kairi..." The words are out before I can stop them. I just can't stop staring at her. "What are you?"

She merely arches a brow at me. "I could ask the same of you. But we've all got our secrets, right?" The impish grin that crosses her face somehow isn't a surprise. "Come on."

Grudgingly I get to my feet and take my bags into the room where her brother sleeps, if you could call it a room. Really, the "rooms" where the kids sleep are actually just two sections of one slightly larger room divided into two by a sheet strung across the middle. Very economical. Looks like I'll get one side of the curtain, Kairi and Dylan the other. Great. No privacy, even. The parents come bustling back in from their own room when they hear Kairi and I exit the little kitchen, and they're both smiling, gracious, trying a _little _too hard. The mother especially doesn't do much to hide her hopes that the dashing exiled knight will marry her daughter and then ride for home and become a hero - a wealthy, important hero - once I straighten out the "crime" I supposedly committed.

In truth, I don't pay much attention while she blathers at me. She honestly doesn't seem a bad sort, but my mind is elsewhere. On those eyes that turned so cold and that bizarrely powerful presence that filled the room when I was caught in my lie. How did Kairi know? What was that power? Because it _was _a power. That was not normal human intuition leading to a frowny face of disapproval. That was _magic. _Ancient, very powerful magic, maybe even older than my own. She probably doesn't even know she has it - she's just grown up being able to see into the hearts of people.

To see into the hearts of people...

It takes a while, but I manage to wave her mother and father away by pleading exhaustion. Once left alone with a candle and my journal, I start to hastily record everything I noticed, every strange thing that's happened so far, in a quick scrawl across the pages. I don't even bother to encrypt it, right now -- I'll just lock the thing and make sure the brats can't get to it before I can use a cipher to scramble the words beyond recognition. I just need to get my thoughts down now, before I lose track of this idea.

To see into the hearts of people ... it's a magic I've heard of only once before, but I can't think of where. Looks like Roxas will be getting a letter sooner than he'd thought.


End file.
